The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-26
PREACHING TO 5000, 900. 900.

PREACHING I'D $GOO,OOO,OOO.
The Man Who Keeps Could Reminded of
the Punishment Awaiting Him.
New York Letter to the Pittsburg Dispatch.
A great deal is written about the
preachers of the metropolis, and particu-
arly about those who, like Talmage,
keep their names constantly before the
public by means o. books, lectures and
published sermons. But there are some
very noteworthy ciergymen who draw
enormous audiences and possess great
ability, who are rarely feard of in print,
although known up and down the city.
UnQestionably Rev. DIR. John r. Paxton
stands at the head o. the ministry in
New York. Even DIR. Johu Hall and
DIR. Morgan Dix do not equal Paxton in
eloquence, originality and remarkable
independence of thought.
To begin with, Paxton's congregation
contains more wealth at the present time
than any other church in the United
States. The mere fact that within a ra-
dius of half a dozen pews ON the middle
aisle sit Jay Gould, Russell Sage, Heber
r.. Bishop and Henry M. Flager is of it.
self sufficient to prove the assertion.
This is only representative of the
wealth that has sittings and listens every
Sabbath to the common sense discourses
of the brilliant young preacher.
Flagler is one of the chief directors of
the Standard Oil Company. He sits
pretty well up the aisle, while back by
the door, in fact within one pew of the
door, modestly si,s s. C. Il. Dodd, the
resident attorney of the Standard and a
lawyer who is said to know more about
corporation practice than ally man in
the nation. i could mention a score or
more of very rich men in the church,
embracing merchants, lawyers, brokers
and the like, but il will suffice TO re-
mark that the aggregate wealth of the
congregation is over $500, 10000
While millionaires and aristocratic So
ciety people sit down. stairs, the galleries
are crowded morning ard evening with
hundreds of young men who are simply
bound up in Paxton.
DIR. Paxton's church is known as the
West Presbyterian, and is situated on
West Forty-Second street, about midway
Fifth and Sixth avenues. 1t is a very
handsome structure, particularly in the
interior. The galleries are novel i'm their
construction, having been altered about
eighteen months ago. Instead of being
arranged in pews. there are boxes all
around the three sides. The boxes are
rented as they are in theaters, so that a
large family can have an entire box, or
"a small family can have part of a box.
"A good many young men rent a single
seat in one of the compartments. The
boxes are very comfortable, containing
easy chairs, book racks. and are lavishly
and richly upholstered. The boxes are
in tiers, one above the other, so as to af-
ford good view of the house.
The church was always large and
prosperous one, but when the venerable
pastor and hymnist, Rev. DIR. Thomas
). Hastings, resigned and the eloquent
Paxton was called, the church Increased
in size, aflluence and influence until It's
contributions and congregations are enor-
nous. Less than n year ago DIR. Paxton,
at the close of his sermon, without Civ
ing any p evious notice, asked money
for the bLilding of a new chapel among
the poorer classes over on Tenth avenue
and Sixty-fo nth street. The baskets
were passed and sci 200 were raised in a
few moments. This is sample of the
charity of the church and the influence
wrought by am appeal by the pas. n.
The church will seat over 800, but there
is scarcely n Sunday that there are not
1000 people present at the services.
Chairs are placed in front of the pulpit,
camp chairs are distributed i'm the gal
leries, and yet people stand i'm the aisles
and by the doors, and ladies sit on the
pulpit steps.
1t might be well to mention how the
millionaires, and especially Jay Gould.
came to become members of the church.
1t is Paxton's magnetism and his prac-
teal every day common sense that drew
them Gould never went to church
regularly before. He had a pew for his
family in prominent Episcopal Church
but rarely attended himself. His young
est daughter, Helen Gould, first came to
Paxton's church. She went with a
friend and admired the preacher very
much. Finally she became a frequent
attendant and then joined the church
one Sabbath morning, receiving a very
happy tribute from Paxton as to
her Christian virtues and sweet life.
Since then, although very young,
she has been made superintendent
of one of q large missions connected
with the church, and is said to spend a
great deal of time ard money among the
poor. Size promises to become one of the
great women benefactors of the metropo-
lis before many years elapse. Helen's
enthusiasm oyer Paxton induced her
father to go and herr him. Paxton never
spares the millionaire and the great cor
poration, and, oddly enough, all the mill
ionaires and corporation managers in
his congregations like his criticisms
Russell Sage is reported to have said that
he got more good points from Paxton as
to the way in which ra;lroads should be
decently and hor orably conducted than
he ever got from meetings of directors.
AT any rate, Gould was delighted He
had his son George go with him one
evening, and George also was charmed
DIR. Paxton's salary is $4,000 year
the largest received by any metropolitan
pastor. DIR. John Hall. of the Fifth Ave
nue. Presbyterian Chucrh, is understood
to come next. He gets SIC. 900 in gold
that being the price stipulated when he
was induced To leave his large church in
Dublin about fifteen years ago,
John r. Paxton is southerner by
birth, and still retains a strong Sontherr
accent that is very noticeable in all his
discourses, and rende = it difficult some
times for strangers to understand him al
first.